An American Girl or Maasai Warrior?

It seems like wherever I go there seems to be something funny about my name.  I recall having a similar post in my Plastino Blog when from when I was in Indonesia.  Usually the case is that no one can pronounce my name since English is about the only language that doesn’t have the letter I make the sound ee, rendering me “Leeza”. 

However when I tell Tanzanians my name, it often evokes a chuckle or outright laughter, as apparently my name is a somewhat common name in the Massai tribe.  For a man. 

At least they pronounce it correctly. 

So I’m proud to say that upon hearing my name people, depending upon where in the world they are from, picture an eccentric and out-dated woman singing showtunes, a tall dark man wrapped in his red fabric herding cattle, or just assume I’m named Lisa.  

The Assassin

Unlike the National Parks where one is seldom allowed to walk around and is banished to the dusty confines of a Land Rover, my area is pretty safe to explore anywhere anytime.  Although Tanzania is known as the heart of African wildlife, many people opt to spend a day or two around Lake Eyasi for a unique cultural experience with the nearby tribes: the Hadzabe and the Datoga.  The former is the more well-known of the two being a group of nomadic hunter-gatherer bushmen who have a language that utilizes intriguing click sounds.  They are truly a fascinating group of people, and frequently Nani and Chris open their home to researchers from around the world who have come to study them. 

Although I would love to wake up in the middle of the night to hear a lion or an elephant or see a Giraffe munching away on Acacias as I take an afternoon walk, it’s nice knowing I can roam about free from the eyes of a Tanzanian guide.  Nonetheless, there are some pesky little fellows to be weary of. 

First of all there are a plethora of poisonous snakes.  Thankfully the birds and monkeys usually do a good job of raising an alarm, although I did have a minor encounter with an Egyptian Cobra the other day… Long story short I wasn’t paying attention as to where I was walking, almost stepped on it, looked down to see a 4 ft snake with it’s hood spread, but luckily it slithered off instead of striking.  Dylan is extremely jealous and constantly reminds me how he’s lived here for 9 years and has never gotten to see a cobra spread its hood.   

The next thing to fear are scorpions.  I’ve heard numerous horror stories about these tiny devils.  I’m pretty much terrified of them.  The problem is that they’re so tiny and almost transparent and when it’s cold out they sneak inside nooks and crannies for warmth.  I compulsively check my pillows and entire before I go to sleep, afraid that I’ll be stung in the middle of the night by a small thing that is known to make grown men whimper with pain.  I’ve only actually seen two and I’m proud to say that I managed to kill the first on my own.  The second was trapped by one of my watchmen and he sawed off its stinger.  Since most Tanzanians (or at least the ones around here) won’t kill anything if they don’t have to, he then just picked it up and tossed it in the bush to live without its tail. 

Kian always obsesses over rabid dogs and rabid hyenas (they had a problem a few years back) but my true fear is an insect known as the Assassin Bug.  Just the name itself is enough to give you shivers.  But what is even more terrifying to me is the description that I found in a book.  Regarding scorpions it said something to the effect of extremely painful sting, but under Assassin Bug it warned excruciating pain.  After hearing the accounts of scorpion survivors I can’t even fathom what a sting from one of these buggers (pun somewhat intended) would be like.  I’ve spotted about three in my house, but luckily we’ve taken care of them- killing them in various ways. 

Thank goodness my bed is surrounded by a mosquito net, which at least makes me feel like I’m protected. 

As far as the animal game goes, I think the score has about evened up.  And it’s halftime.  I’ll spare all the unexciting stories and details, but between finding a dead donkey that we managed to set up near a tree to fix our cameras and record numerous spotted hyenas devour it during the night, avoiding an attack by that cobra, and daily sightings of the baby striped hyena, I’ve certainly made a comeback.  Nonetheless I think a gecko climbing on the ceiling pooped on me the other day.  Can’t win ’em all.  

Thorns

I remember going to the ever-classy and entertaining Chuck-E-Cheese’s with my whole family many years ago.  I was about 13 years old but somehow got coaxed into accompanying my nieces, who were about half my age and half my size, through those awful mazes of plastic tubing.  I remember fumbling behind them attempting to crawl as their tiny bodies were able to weave and run through the tunnels with ease. 

Every time I go adventuring through the bush to go tracking or find a new tree to climb or  scout out a new spot for our motion-sensor cameras (which is basically every day) I get flashbacks to that day.  Except this time I’m following two skinny and fearless boys through makeshift tunnels in the bush.  And instead of the occasional squif nail that has poked its way through the crappy red plastic, there are thorns.  Everywhere.

I wasn’t really sure what to expect about my new home, particularly regarding location and terrain.  Before I came out here pretty much all I knew was that I was going to be somewhere along Lake Eyasi, which doesn’t say much seeing as I had no city to go on (reasonable explanation being that the closest city that google maps would likely register is Karatu, which is about an hour or two away depending on who’s driving down the bumpy “roads”).   Even more pathetic, I couldn’t figure out for the life of my how to pronounce Eyasi (turns out it’s roughly pronounced ee-yAH-see).  So whenever anyone asked me where in Tanzania I was going, I pretty much said, “The middle of nowhere.”  I knew I was west of Kilimanjaro and in the savannah.  And that was about it.  But honestly, it didn’t really matter to me what it was like as long as it was an adventure (and one that would allow me to further deny the real world and post-college depression). 

In my book, even if an adventure sucks, it’s always a good story. 

So off I went, with pretty much no idea what I was doing or where I was going, just ready to

“do it live”, so to speak. 

Once I finally arrived the first thing that stood out to me was:

Where’s the lake?

But I soon realized that the dry-season turned Lake Eyasi into Eyasi Mud and Dirt Shore. 

Quick next thought:

Holy hell there are a ton of thorns. 

Thorns everywhere. I mean, everywhere.  Tiny prickly thorns, Acacia thorns, two-inch thorns, Wait-a-bit thorns, and all of the brothers and sisters of these nasty thorns.  Even the grass is thorny. 

I permanently have scratches and scars as battle wounds from gallivanting around the bush, also known as my backyard.  And forget about sandals or shorts.  Even with sneakers I often have to stop to remove 3 inch white thorns that have somehow penetrated the thick rubber soles.  I have absolutely no idea how Dylan and the other kids often go barefoot. 

Nearly everyday I go out on adventures around their land (roughly 150 acres) with the boys or Nani or Chris or just by myself, and it’s always a fight.  It’s extremely tough following the boys since they’re so small that they can just squeeze through any hole or past any tree full of thorns without any difficulty.  Hence, the Chuck-E-Cheese maze of the wild. 

Swahili Time

            Apparently in Swahili time is different.  7am is considered to be 1am, which means that noon is 6am, 7pm is 1pm, and so on.  Nani explained this to because she had received a message from one of the workers about meeting at a certain time but she was confused which language of time it was referring to, and in her frustration decided to enlighten me.  I’ve never encountered this before… interesting. 

Thought I’d just add this random tidbit and try to get some more pictures. But alas, I spent an hour and was only able to upload one.

the view from the rock of a dried up Lake Eyasi

Not all animals are enemies

Besides my war with most of the animals, there are a few that I have seen/heard/learned about that are pretty cool.  To date, I have had no negative experiences with any of these three. Let’s hope I don’t jinx myself. 

Go-away birds

            This small bird sits high up on trees and serves as the security system for all of the animals.  If the Go-away bird spots humans or anything that may be of danger, it shouts its alarm, sounding something like, “Go away! Go away!” and all of the animals quickly scatter.  Quite a nuisance to the hunters, but I found it rather interesting and they were all over the bush where we were camping. 

Ant-lions

            These tiny bugs live in the dirt/sand and devour ants and other similar bugs like a lion would its prey (hence the name).  They dig these little cone-shaped holes and wait until an ant falls into it.  It rarely succeeds to climb up because the walls of the hole are so steep and slippery, and additionally the ant-lion will shoot sand up at it to try and knock the ant down.  Once it’s trapped, the ant-lion grabs its victim with its pinchers, sucks all the juice out of it, and then takes it down below the surface to be consumed.  Sneaky little fellas.  The funny thing is that when they move on land they walk backwards and leave these funny little trails that look like worm-trails. 

Honeyguides

            While we were camping Nani told me about this awesome bird.  If you find this bird, it will lead you to a wonderful bee-hive full of honey.  Animals as well as people collaborate with this pretty little bird, sometimes for very long distances, to find this sweet treasure.  However, you must get some honey for the bird as a reward (notably its incentive) otherwise it will reportedly lead you to a snake or hyena den upon your next encounter.  Apparently if you’re following one and you lose sight of it, all you have to do it make it’s call and it’ll come back to get you.  Amazing!  We had some researchers staying at Nani’s house recently who told us they had found one the day before and had successfully gotten honey. 

Washa-washa

            A pretty little caterpillar, but be careful because washa-washa is Kiswahili for itchy-itchy.  While roaming around with the boys I found one and almost picked it up, but Dylan warned me that as soon as you touch one it pees all over you and then it itches for days. Close one.

Fisi

Before coming to Tanzania virtually all I knew about hyenas was from The Lion King and in Disney’s colorful and comical way I was convinced that they were disgusting and maniacal creatures. 

Early on I remember Nani explaining the hyenas in the area and in no time the negative image was shattered and I longed to see this animal that is known in Swahili as Fisi. 

For about seven years numerous striped hyenas lived right on their land and became so accustomed to people at their camp that they were tame, lovable, and absolutely adorable.  From the pictures I later saw, I realized how clean and beautiful these animals really are (shame on you Disney!) and kept hoping to see one.  However, Nani quickly shattered that hope by telling me stories of how a few years ago some hyenas got rabies, Chris had to shoot one, and then they pretty much all fled.  And for the record Nani didn’t tell me the complete gruesome stories until last week, afraid I would pack my bags at once.  (Apparently by now I’ve convinced her that pretty much nothing will take me away from here…)

Anyhow, a few weeks ago people started seeing and hearing the hyena around again.  Most of the villagers and workers were unhappy and scared but Nani and I were elated.  Several mornings and evenings we spotted it coming in from the empty lakeshore, but it was nothing more than a black speck moving in the distance.  I was so eager to actually see it up close, but on the two encounters that it dared to near their house before dark it ran off so quickly as soon as the dogs saw it.  One night it was so calm that I could hear the distinct call of the hyena all night long.  It sounded as if it was just outside my house, but once again I didn’t actually see it. 

After being here nearly two months, I was finally able to have some amazing hyena experiences that (although I failed to have my camera on me) I will never forget. 

The other evening I went up the rock (our Pride Rock, in keeping with the Lion King analogies) with Nani and the boys to attempt to find a hyena in the den that lies just a few meters below.  We quietly climbed up and waited for about a half an hour before we saw movement in the den.  Everyone grabbed their own binoculars and we anxiously looked over to see: a mongoose. womp, womp… So back to daydreaming and bird watching we went.  Sadly Nani had to go back to work, but we had pretty much given up on seeing a hyena by then anyway.  Still, the boys and I decided to stay up for a bit (it’s the perfect place for a sunset and we had nothing better to do than enjoy the beautiful view).  We were no longer quiet and were busy throwing rocks and grass off the cliff when Dylan shouted for us to stop and pointed to the den.  At long last there she was, a beautiful young striped hyena.  I huddled up with the boys and we laid at the top of the rock staring at her in awe as she chewed away at some sort of animal (dog? dik-dik? rabbit?) until it was too dark and we had to leave.  Hiking back down the cliff I was so pumped and we couldn’t help but skip all the way home.

The next day there was a different hyena acting strangely in the area and everyone was concerned.  To make a really long story short, it was running around in daylight, limping, pacing back and forth, etc.  We weren’t sure if it was poisoned or rabid or what, so Nani and I stood watch for hours, and Chris prepared his gun but he really didn’t want to shoot it (for numerous complicated reasons) so he went to the village and within an hour or two a bunch of the local guys came running around with sticks and spears and dogs to take care of it.  Mind you, we were trying to be discreet so as not to scare the guests…

By this time it was evening and to be safely out of the way I took the boys back up the rock to see the events unfold.  Although the wounded/sick hyena had been laying way out on the lakeshore for hours in the same spot (we thought it might have already died) as soon as the people came it ran and ran and ran like you wouldn’t believe.  It was too far away for us to even really see with our binoculars so the boys and I resorted to our own entertainment and were busy playing on the rock when I noticed the hyena from the day before had returned to its den.  We watched for a while but it was just resting and soon we had to return home for dinner.  Turns out the other hyena ran completely out of sight and they’re pretty certain we won’t be seeing it again. 

For going two months without seeing one, these were two pretty crazy hyena-filled days.  This has got to count for some points in the animal war…

Money

Numerous things have surprised me about money since my arrival to the wonderful place that is Tanzania.  First I have to admit that coming to Africa I had the false notion that everything would be dirt cheap.  Perhaps this was naïve and stereotypical of me, or maybe this was just a shock since I could buy an entire delicious meal for $2 in the last two places I traveled.  Although Egypt is on the same continent and I could take the Cairo Metro anywhere for less than a 20 cents, a dollar in Tanzania buys me pretty much the same thing as it does it at home: nothing. Or maybe a pack of gum.

I realize this is a pretty stupid realization, but as in all my blog entries, I pretty much just think aloud.  Anyhow… I know Africa is an extremely vast continent with numerous languages, cultures, and economies.  Knowing that much of Tanzania’s economy is based on tourism (although agriculture is actually responsible for 2/3 of the economy), I should have put two and two together and realized that this automatically hikes the prices up.  Add in a pretty much guarantee to see lions and elephants and giraffe, and you have the recipe for bringing in rich people from all over the world to safari.  The result: everything is really expensive.  Or rather, everything costs about what it does in the states, which relatively speaking is quite pricey.  Especially since 1USD is about the equivalent of 1,500 Tanzanian Shillings. 

            Besides the actual cost of things, the currency floating around gave me more of a shock.  Instead of the beautifully colored national notes bearing stunning and powerful animals, US Dollars are accepted basically everywhere.  Most hotels and resorts ask for payment in USD and no matter what nationality you are, you are expected to travel to Tanzania with Dollars.  I was shocked when some Spanish ladies that were over for dinner started pulling out US Dollars to buy some necklaces from Nani.  Even Kian and Dylan have their own stash of Dollars. 

Good thing I didn’t decide to change tons of my money into Shillings, however Chris did give me half of my first month’s pay in Shillings.  But living in the middle of the bush with all of my meals provided I have spent nothing besides my initial purchase at Shoprite which basically just consisted of peanutbutter.